Lecture Series

Fall 2018

“The First Day of the Rest of My Life”Date: Sunday, September 9, 2018
Presenter: William “Bill” Townsley, Colonel, US Air Force (Ret.)
Highly-decorated Air Force officer, speaker and Yorktown resident, Colonel Townsley will discuss his harrowing story of being shot down and rescued in 1969 during the Vietnam War. Having survived the crash of his aircraft in enemy territory, he had to use all of his survival skills to evade enemy soldiers searching for him before finally being rescued. Townsley’s experience has been covered on the History Channel as well as in many print and online publications. Link to Lecture(Col. Townsley replaces the originally scheduled speaker, Bucky Burruss.)

Spring 2018

“History of the Naval Weapons Station Yorktown”Date: Sunday, April 15, 2018Presenter: CAPT Matthew Kosnar, Commander, Naval Weapons Station YorktownCaptain Kosnar will discuss the 100-year history of the Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, which marks its centennial this year. He will cover the growth and evolution of the facility from the early days of the First World War to the present. Link to Lecture

“World War I on the Virginia Peninsula”Date: Sunday, March 25, 2018Presenter:Mr. J. Michael Moore, historian and Curator of Lee Hall Mansion and Endview PlantationMr. Moore will provide an overview of the First World War (1914-1918) 100 years after the war’s end. He will discuss the effects of the war on the United States and Europe and particularly the Peninsula, to include the rise of the military-industrial complex in Hampton Roads.

“A Conversation with John Rollison”Date: Saturday, February 3, 2018Presenter:Mr. James Cameron, character actor/author/historianIn celebration of Black History Month, Mr. Cameron portrays John Rollison, a free black man in colonial Yorktown.He was a wealthy landand tavern owner who supported the Patriot cause in the American Revolution. Link to Lecture

Fall 2017

“Dolley Madison, Fashionista” Date: Sunday, October 1, 2017
Presenter: Ms. Feather Schwartz Foster, author/historian.
This is the story of a Quaker who became a social icon and one of the most influential and best-loved First Ladies.Link to Lecture

“The Unknown and Impossible: How a research facility in Virginia mastered the air and conquered space” Date: November 22, 2017
Presenters: Mark St. John Erickson, and Mike Krukow - Daily Press Reporters
The co-authors (along with fellow reporter Tamara Dietrich) of the 2017 published history of the NASA / Langley Research Center by the same title. They discuss the rich history of the center and the key role it has played for the past 100 years of U.S. aeronautical advancement and exploration. Link to Lecture

“The War Offshore” Date: October 22, 2017
Presenter: Clayton Farrington, Historian, Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Norfolk, Virginia
This deals with the little-known story of the successful Navy-Coast Guard effort to eradicate the German U-Boat threat off the coast of Hampton Roads in 1942. That effort begat unintended but deadly consequences for those working at Naval Air Station Norfolk and Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. Link to Lecture